


An Ode to Yellow Carnations

by ToxicPineapple



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: (courtesy of Miu), (it's pretty minor though), (of course), (they're present for all of four seconds), 5+1 Things, Acquaintances To Acquantainces Who Would Like To Date If Entirely Possible, Bittersweet, Could you really call it that?, Developing Relationships, Everyone is working a dead-end job, Everything in this fic is done legally and in moderation, F/F, Flower meanings, Human!Kiibo, Hurt/Comfort, If that's your thing - Freeform, Light Mention of Alcohol Use, Minor Character Death, Non-Binary Kiibo, Non-Despair AU, Non-Hope's Peak Academy AU, Post-High School, Romance, Sex Jokes, Slice of Life AU, They're all adults though, but you can view it as a developing romance, established relationships - Freeform, flowershop au, post-college, the Oumota is definitely intended as platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:48:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21976864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToxicPineapple/pseuds/ToxicPineapple
Summary: “They’re called blue hydrangeas,” a light voice remarks behind her, and Kaede squeaks in surprise, flipping around. A woman about an inch taller than her is standing there, smiling idly. She has long blue hair, tied out of her face in a thick, messy braid, and her eyes are a lovely shade of teal, though her glasses, which are oval shaped, are a bit foggy, so Kaede can’t see them very well. The woman is pale, and shapely, and extremely pretty, but what catches Kaede’s attention is the bunch of flowers in her hands. “They’re quite popular, actually,” she adds idly. “Though I’ll be honest that despite being a florist, I really don’t know what they represent.”“Oh!” Something clicks in Kaede’s mind. “You’re Miss Shirogane, then!”---Alternate title: The five people Kaede brought to Miss Shirogane's flower shop, plus the reason she went by herself.
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede & Everyone, Akamatsu Kaede/Shirogane Tsumugi, Iruma Miu/Toujo Kirumi, K1-B0/Saihara Shuichi, Kirigiri Kyoko/Naegi Makoto, Kuzuryuu Fuyuhiko/Pekoyama Peko, Momota Kaito & Ouma Kokichi
Comments: 53
Kudos: 49





	1. Shuichi Saihara

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Alerane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alerane/gifts).



> written for the 2019 secret santa gift exchange on tumblr!!! i got alerane (and we've already connected) but i wanna add a second time that i had soooo much fun writing this. i went way overboard but it,,, be like that sometimes. additional notes will be at the end of the last chapter. enjoy!

Kaede gently lifts pressure from the gas pedal and gives the block another long, sweeping glance. She just needs a parking spot, that’s all. Her car isn’t even very big, and she’s terrible at a lot of things but she  _ excels  _ at parallel parking. It’s not like the flower shop on this block is even new, or anything. It’s actually been here for quite some time, despite the fact that she’s never actually been inside. (She likes the thought of entering a flower shop and always has, but in between eight-hour shifts at the office three miles away from her house and devoting the rest of her time to composing piano pieces she knows will never make it into the world, it’s always just been the neat little building she drives past on her way home from work. Not a real place that actually exists beyond the outside.)

Anyway, she’s a bit surprised, for that reason, that it seems to have so many customers right now. She’s been around the block perhaps three times at this point, and she hasn’t been able to find a single spot large enough to accommodate her Prius.

“I think it would be alright if you park a couple blocks away,” Shuichi, who’s sitting shotgun, and who is also the reason why she’s going to the flower shop to begin with, gives her a sideways look and a crooked smile, blue strands of hair falling in front of his eyes in that goofy way that it has since high school. Against her better judgement, Kaede lifts one of her hands from the wheel and reaches out to mess with her hair, purely as a compulsion. “Kaede,” he complains, and delightfully, his cheeks flush slightly as he jerks away.

“Sorry!” She laughs, and he sighs at her, one of his eyebrows quirking to let her know he doesn’t buy the apology at all. Kaede turns her main focus back to the road and starts to do as he suggested, driving over to the next block to see if she can find a place to park. “You don’t help your case any by giving me the reaction I want every time, y’know?” She pokes her tongue out at him, and Shuichi scoffs, but she knows he isn’t genuinely offended. They have a nice relationship, her and Shuichi. They’ve been best friends since their first year of high school, since they had the same class, and they both got lost looking for it on the first day.

(Talk about a lousy experience to have in your freshman year. But it was fine; Shuichi is ridiculously intuitive, and Kaede has a complex about giving up, so they found their classroom relatively quickly.)

There’s a good amount of banter, but they know how to be serious if they need to be. Kaede figures that eventually, they’ll have to turn this into one of those moments- at least for the sake of getting the flowers that Shuichi needs- but she knows that he’s been feeling anxious about all of this, and the parking situation probably isn’t helping at all, so she wants to take his mind off of it. If she doesn’t, he’ll just keep on stressing out and overthinking literally everything until he doesn’t do anything at all, and that’s absolutely not what Kaede wants today to become.

“Ah, right there!” Shuichi says suddenly, and Kaede follows his finger, eyes widening when her gaze lands on a parking space just across the street from the flower shop. She can definitely fit into there! Before Shuichi can say anything else, Kaede turns the car over to the spot and eases on the breaks, preparing to slide in, and-

Another car, one even smaller than Kaede’s, glides smoothly into the parking space before her very eyes.

“Oh,” Shuichi utters, and Kaede thinks,  _ yeah.  _ She watches, embarrassingly speechless, as the driver (a blonde woman with pigtails) exits the car and flips them the birdie. That’s extremely rude, actually. Kaede decides she’d better not lose any sleep over it, though, and starts to drive again, albeit with a degree of annoyance that wasn’t present a moment ago.

It doesn’t take too much longer for them to find a good spot. It’s only a couple blocks away, and when Kaede gets out of the car, she notices that their spot gives them a good view of the city skyline, which is nice. She hasn’t lived in Tokyo all her life. In fact, she, her sister, and her fathers moved from up north in Hokkaido back when she was twelve, which means that, growing up, she had plenty of time to get used to living in the north. But she’s never gotten tired of the atmosphere of this city. Hokkaido was nice, but there’s something extremely attractive to her about the hustle and bustle of Tokyo that she can’t quite put a name to. The skyline is gorgeous as well, which is absolutely a bonus.

This flower shop is quaint, though; that’s the best word for it, Kaede decides, as she pulls open the door for Shuichi and a tiny brass bell jangles at the top. Shuichi shoots her a shy smile, which is ridiculous because she’s known him for over a decade, and then she follows him inside. There’s not a single available surface in this shop. Everything is covered in all sorts of flowers, and greenery too. The smell of plants is a little bit overpowering, but Kaede isn’t overwhelmed. She’s never been inside such a place before. The ceiling is low, and the lights have an old, yellowish tint, but the flowers are all vibrant colours. She especially enjoys the deep blue-purples and the fiery red-oranges, but there are pale yellows and pinks and greens that make her heart sigh too.

(She doesn’t recognise a single kind of flower, except for some pale pink ones, which she thinks are sprigs from a cherry blossom tree? At any rate, she’s totally out of her depth, and it’s not a bad thing at all.)

What’s strange, though, is it seems like there’s… no one here? Kaede leans forward, brushing a thick bundle of white flowers out of her face and peeking around. From all the cars parked on the block, she would’ve thought that the shop would be full of people, but… it’s entirely quiet, aside from the sound of Shuichi perusing the flowers, and the heels of her own boots, clicking against the linoleum beneath her feet. She can’t even see any workers, which is without a doubt the strangest part of the whole situation. Maybe they’re in the back?

Kaede walks a bit further into the shop, under green vines with pretty lavender coloured flowers, and wonders if they’re real. The stand to her left has all sorts of blue and purple flowers, and her eyes gravitate towards a batch of light blue ones. Kiibo, Shuichi’s partner (and also the one they’re here to get flowers for), likes this colour a lot. It’s also a very similar colour to their eyes, so maybe getting it would be a romantic gesture on Shuichi’s part? To be honest, Kaede’s a bit of disaster when it comes to romantic endeavours. She’s had a couple girlfriends but her relationships haven’t always ended well due to total romantic ineptitude on her part. (Her hyper fixating on the piano may or may not have been a factor as well.) She’s still really not sure why Shuichi came to her for advice on this. It’s not as though she’s-

“They’re called blue hydrangeas,” a light voice remarks behind her, and Kaede squeaks in surprise, flipping around. A woman about an inch taller than her is standing there, smiling idly. She has long blue hair, tied out of her face in a thick, messy braid, and her eyes are a lovely shade of teal, though her glasses, which are oval shaped, are a bit foggy, so Kaede can’t see them very well. The woman is pale, and shapely, and  _ extremely  _ pretty, but what catches Kaede’s attention is the bunch of flowers in her hands. “They’re quite popular, actually,” she adds idly. “Though I’ll be honest that despite being a florist, I really don’t know what they represent.”

“Oh!” Something clicks in Kaede’s mind. “You’re Miss Shirogane, then! This is your flower shop.” The woman smiles, and gestures for Kaede to move out of the way, so she does. She watches for a moment as the blue-haired woman restocks the hydrangeas before speaking again. “Uhm, am I being presumptuous?”

“Oh, no, you’re not,” Shirogane hums. “I should apologise, I’m really lousy at picking up on social cues.” Her smile suggests that she’s not entirely sorry, but Kaede finds it compelling rather than offensive, especially when paired with the lovely sparkle in her eyes. “People don’t call me Miss Shirogane usually, it’s so formal. I’m much more of a given name person. I should really just start wearing a nametag.” She steps back and wipes her hands off on her apron before using her knuckle to adjust her glasses. “I’m Tsumugi. Can I help you find anything specific?”

“Uhm, Kaede,” she returns, and feels herself delighting when the woman smiles again. “And I’m here with my friend, he’s-” she turns around, hoping to point out Shuichi to Tsumugi, but he’s nowhere to be found. “Somewhere, around here,” and she’s a bit embarrassed upon turning back to the florist.

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” dismisses Tsumugi with a wave of her hand. “It’s easy to get lost here because there’s so much packed into such a small space, but people always find their way eventually.” She smiles. “Are you just helping him look, or did you want to browse some flowers yourself?”

The way Tsumugi asks, Kaede really wants the answer to be yes, but she shakes her head. “No, I don’t have anybody to give them to, ahaha.” She rubs the back of her neck and feels her throat crawling a bit at the blank look she receives from the florist, but then the other woman nods, turning around.

“If your friend is here for flowers, I imagine he’ll be interested in flower meanings, to a degree, won’t he? Most people are.” She adds, nonchalant and over her shoulder, “I really don’t know a thing about any of that stuff, but we do have a book in the back, so maybe you’d like to take a look at it? If you don’t have anyone to buy for, though, maybe you shouldn’t worry so much about the meanings.” Her tone is mischievous, and Kaede finds herself wondering if she’s being made fun of. It’s hard to feel offended though when she can already hear the smile in Tsumugi’s voice.

“I thought knowing about flower meanings sort of came with the territory!” Kaede remarks, and follows the other woman to the back of the shop. They reach a counter, which is the first empty flat surface that Kaede has seen here thus far, and Tsumugi slips behind it, untying her apron from around her waist. She shifts her braid so that it slips off of her left shoulder and swings behind her back before bending over. For a moment Kaede can’t see her face, but then she straightens up again, holding a thick, old looking book. “I’m sorry if I’m assuming, again, but in the books florists always know a lot about that stuff.”

“I think if I was really passionate about this work,” Tsumugi hums. “Then I’d probably know a thing or two.” Her smile is vague and non-committal, but it’s also not offended. “To tell you the truth, this used to be my mom’s shop, back before she passed away. I don’t have much interest in flower meanings.”

“Oh.” That makes a bit of sense; Kaede knows how it feels to keep doing something that she doesn’t particularly want to do out of a feeling of obligation. (It’s the reason she and Shuichi dated, once upon a time.) She’s already kind of put Tsumugi on the spot, and she doesn’t want to do that any more, so she opens her mouth to say something else. “Well, uhm, I’d be happy to look-”

“Kaede?” Shuichi’s voice finds her and cuts her off mid-sentence, and so Kaede turns around, watches as her friend emerges from behind a large display of flowers. He has a bunch of flowers in his hands by now, and the majority of them are varying shades of blue, but he has a couple that are a vivid sunset yellow. A lovely colour. Shuichi’s always had a good eye for colour palettes, and that sort of thing. Kiibo is going to like it. “Oh, there you are. It’s easy to get lost here.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” says Tsumugi. “Maybe I’d better invest in a map.” She’s probably joking? But it’s difficult to tell, because she’s wearing a simple smile and a slight tilt of her eyebrows. When Shuichi spots her, his eyes widen, and it seems he realises who Tsumugi is a bit more quickly than Kaede did, because he bows, apologetic.

“Ah, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything about the organisation here, I only meant that it’s very immersive,” he stammers, and Kaede finds herself laughing slightly. Tsumugi’s expression indicates that she was definitely joking just now, and this time it takes Shuichi longer to catch on.

“What flowers have you selected, Shu?” Kaede cuts in, to spare him the embarrassment of realising that he overreacted to a joke, and Shuichi straightens up, his face flushed slightly.

“Well, I know that these are marigolds,” he begins carefully, gesturing at the pretty yellow flowers scattered throughout the bunch. “And I think these are hydrangeas? Not all of them were marked, at least that I could tell, so I’m not exactly sure…”

Resting an elbow on the counter, Tsumugi replies, “You have cornflowers,” and with a giggle, adds, “and forget-me-nots.”

“Oh, don’t forget-me-nots mean something sad?” Kaede tilts her head to the side and looks over at Tsumugi for clarification, but the blue-haired woman shakes her head.

“I have  _ those  _ ones memorised at least, because they’re cliche.” (Shuichi blushes.) “They represent true love. Or remembrance, if you want. Is the person you’re getting those for a flower nut?” The question is directed at Shuichi, who quickly shakes his head, and Tsumugi nods, looking satisfied. “Then I wouldn’t stress about flower meanings. I doubt they’ll know any off the top of their head. Blue and yellow work nicely together, though, I have to commend you for that.”

“It wasn’t my idea,” Shuichi admits, somewhat sheepishly. “At least, not initially? My friend Kokichi made a joke about what it would look like if my eyes were yellow, and I got to thinking about aesthetics…” he runs a hand through his hair. “A-Anyway, thank you. I hope Kiibo feels the same way.”

“I think you could get Kiibo weeds from your garden and they’d still lose their crap,” Kaede laughs, and Shuichi spares a smile at that as Tsumugi takes the bundle of flowers from his hands. “You two are both really into each other!”

“I’ll get you some greenery for this,” Tsumugi says offhandedly, fixing the flowers into a bouquet. “Are you in a hurry?” This question is directed at Kaede. “Today’s been a bit slow, so I’d be happy to sit down with you and read through the book, if you wanted.”

All of Kaede’s plans for the day shoot out of her brain for a moment upon receiving the offer. Honestly, at this moment in time, nothing appeals to her more than the prospect of sitting in this flower shop all day and talking to Tsumugi about flower meanings. It smells good in here, like flowers (obviously) and the way that Tsumugi is smiling at her is making it difficult for her brain to function. Unfortunately, Kaede’s common sense comes crashing in after a moment, and she remembers that she has… other commitments. Completely and totally inconvenient considering how gay she is.

But such is life. And besides, one of those commitments is driving Shuichi home, which upon second thought seems like a pretty important commitment.

“Rain check?” She suggests, and Tsumugi smiles.


	2. Makoto Naegi

When Kaede arrives at Tsumugi’s flower shop for the second time, parking is almost… even worse than it was last time. It’s the same day of the week, though, a Sunday, and since the flower shop was pretty much empty last time, it’s possible that there’s some other business on the block that is extremely busy on Sundays. Maybe they have a really great weekend sale. Kaede doesn’t know.

At any rate, despite promising Tsumugi before that she’d come back and look through the book, she hasn’t actually been making a very conscious effort to return. It’s obviously not on Tsumugi’s part (or even her own; she really  _ wants  _ to go back and spend time with the florist) it’s more that, she’s just, busy. She’s been falling into the same trap that’s kept her from ever going to the flower shop to begin with. Hyper focusing on work and the piano and making almost no time for anything else. Even her friends barely get to see her.

It’s a bit embarrassing too, because despite the fact that Kaede hasn’t had a girl’s night in ages, she’s been getting barely any sleep. She blames it on the fact that she started a new piece recently. Honestly, she’s not entirely sure why she puts so much effort into composing those pieces. It isn’t as though anything is going to come of them. She’s never shared any of her compositions in the past. She’s hardly even played the piano in front of people.

Kaede probably wouldn’t have made plans to revisit the flower shop period, but the other night, she had her neighbours (the Naegis, siblings and also teachers at the high school in their neighbourhood) over for dinner, and Makoto- the elder- mentioned wanting to get flowers for his girlfriend.

“It’s not like she really expects to receive a lot of things like that.” he had explained, rubbing the back of his neck. “Actually, I’m pretty sure she doesn’t even realise that our anniversary is coming up, but I want to get her something special, anyway.” He hummed. “I think I’ll get her another present, but flowers are a definitive. I’m not sure where to go, though? The florist I used to go to closed shop recently, and I’m a bit pressed for time…”

“I know a flower shop on my way to work,” Kaede found herself saying, Tsumugi’s shop suddenly popping into her brain. “I’ve been meaning to make a trip for a while, how about I drive you?”

Anyway, Kaede manages to find a parking spot eventually, almost twice as far away from the shop as she had to park when she came with Shuichi. As soon as the key is out of the ignition, she turns to her neighbour, an apologetic smile on her face. Makoto is about as patient as they come, and he hasn’t said anything through the search for parking, aside from a quiet  _ oh no  _ when a car slid into place in front of them, but it’s still insanely awkward. Especially considering that Kaede doesn’t know Makoto nearly as well as Shuichi, and so the search for parking was far less painless this time.

“I’m sorry, it’s not even that the shop has this many people,” she sighs, and Makoto’s grey eyes are understanding. “I think there’s some kind of competitive business nearby that a lot of people are going to? It might just be a Sundays thing, since last time when I came the parking was this bad too, and it was a Sunday.” Under her breath, Kaede adds, “maybe I should just take the bus next time?”

“No worries, I drive too, you know?” Makoto smiles. “I know how it can be.” He unbuckles his seatbelt and gives Kaede an expectant look. “Lead the way back?”

“Oh, of course!” Kaede hops out of the car and closes the door behind herself, locking up the car once Makoto is out and starting down the sidewalk in the direction of the flower shop. It’s the end of August, and the summer sun that’s been beating down on everyone for the past several weeks is finally starting to recede. It’s late summer weather; one of her favourites to walk around in. Her heart feels light and breezy when the two of them finally reach the shop, and when Makoto opens the door for her, she beams and thanks him. The familiar sound of the bell ringing makes her heart leap with excitement.

As happened last time, when Kaede enters the shop, it seems ghostly in how empty it is. Next to her, Makoto hums, and she realises that the density of all the flowers in this place has probably taken him off guard. She shoots him a smile.

“Yeah, Tsumugi has a lot, it’s really impressive, isn’t it?” She asks, and his gaze flitters briefly over to her. Makoto is a sweet guy. He’s a couple years older than her, but he has a sort of wide-eyed fascination with the world around him that she hasn’t really seen in anybody else. They really don’t talk nearly often enough, despite having been neighbours for almost three years now. Kaede decides that she should do something to change that. Makoto is a nice person to be around. “I was a bit overwhelmed the first time I came here.”

Makoto opens his mouth to say something, but he stops at the sound of conversation, drifting down from where Kaede remembers the counter to be. She recognises Tsumugi’s soprano tone, and realises that the other voice, undoubtedly female but a bit lower, is familiar too. The voices get closer, and subsequently louder, and then from around the corner come the owner of the flower shop herself, and another woman, holding a bouquet of flowers.

“Oh, Kirumi!” Kaede exclaims, and the woman next to Tsumugi’s eyebrows raise, a small smile forming on her face automatically. She has a bouquet of assorted light pink flowers, most likely for her girlfriend (as well as Kaede’s best friend other than Shuichi, Miu) resting on her forearm. She’s dressed casually, which is strange for Kaede to see because Kirumi is employed as a maid, and so she’s usually dressed in extremely formal wear. They’re not extraordinarily close; they only met when Kirumi and Miu started going out, but it’s still nice to see her. “I didn’t think I’d see you here!”

“Really?” Tsumugi’s response is incredulous. “Kirumi is one of my best customers.” There’s an odd quality to the way that the blue-haired woman says that, and Kaede finds herself wanting to question it, but eventually holds her tongue. They’re not nearly well-acquainted enough for it to be appropriate for her to ask such questions.

“It’s good to see you, Kaede,” Kirumi says, as diplomatic (and formal) as ever. She glances at Tsumugi then, a different kind of smile on her face. “Kaede is close to my girlfriend,” she explains, and Tsumugi’s eyes light up.

“Huh! I thought you might be the type,” she beams at Kaede, and the blonde sputters, because she really don’t know what that means? But maybe Tsumugi has heard a thing or two about Miu’s personality from Kirumi, in which case, that kind of reaction would make sense. “Do you need help finding something?” The question is directed at Makoto, whose expression quickly morphs into a sheepish smile. “I’m just walking Kirumi out, and there isn’t anyone else here that I know of, so I can devote my attention to you.” (Odd phrasing, Kaede thinks, but endearing.)

Rubbing the back of his neck, Makoto admits, “I’m a bit out of my depth, actually. My one year anniversary with my girlfriend Kyoko is this week, but I’m really not sure what kind of flowers I would even… roses are too cliche, aren’t they?”

“Hm, well, I don’t actually have much of a vendetta against them,” Tsumugi muses. “There’s something nice about a return to the classics. But you do seem a bit submissive, so I don’t think she’ll appreciate that.”

“S-Submissive?”

“Come on, let’s go have a look.” Tsumugi doesn’t address Makoto’s embarrassed exclamation. Instead, she opts to gesture for him to follow her before disappearing into the shop. Makoto doesn’t follow right away, but his head swivels to Kaede, as though asking her what to do.

She laughs a bit. “Well, follow her,” she urges, and so he heaves a sigh, hurrying off in the direction that Tsumugi went. She’ll tag along in a bit, or maybe go wait for them at the counter, but first she turns to address Kirumi, who is standing near the exit with her head tilted to the side. “Your anniversary is coming up too, right?” At the dutiful nod she receives from the other woman, she continues. “You guys have been going out since high school! That takes commitment.”

“Well, I’m rather fond of her,” Kirumi laughs quietly, that laugh that she has that sounds a bit like she’s humming. Kaede can really see why Miu likes her so much, Kirumi is stunning. (Looks-wise, duh, but personality-wise too.) “How about you? We haven’t talked in a while, have you been dating recently?”

Recently? Kaede has barely left her house for anything other than work. “Ahaha, how does the conversation always turn to this?”

Kirumi’s smile is knowing. “There is no rush. You’re only twenty five.” Which is hardly a consolation, in fact, because Kirumi is twenty five too, but whatever. No biggie. Kaede returns Kirumi’s goodbye when she gives it, and watches the woman exit the shop before turning back around to see about joining back up with Tsumugi and Makoto.

The flowers that Makoto chooses are pretty. The bouquet is packed with varying shades of purples, light and dark, with a few light pinks scattered in between. As Tsumugi adds in greenery at the counter, and wraps the bouquet with wax paper, Kaede finds herself wondering something.

“Hey, what else are you getting Kyoko for your anniversary? You said you were thinking about it, right?” She asks, and Makoto’s eyes widen just a fraction when he’s addressed. He nods, not appearing to think that hard about it, and smiles distantly.

“Kyoko isn’t really a jewelery person, so it’s nothing like that.” He starts to say. “She isn’t a flowers person either- I think I mentioned that at one point?- so I guess I’m kind of already doing something that I wouldn’t, usually. Uhm- by that I mean, I wouldn’t usually because it isn’t her preference, my past girlfriends liked flowers so I tried to get them some when I could.” He chuckles sheepishly. “I don’t know that Kyoko  _ hates  _ having her picture taken, but it doesn’t happen very often, so whenever I’ve been able to get a picture of her, or of us, I’ve kept a hold of it. But I thought it was kind of weird to have over fifty candid shots of my girlfriend lying around that she has no idea exist.”

“That is a bit creepy,” Kaede admits, and Makoto frowns at her. “I’m not going to lie! It’s definitely less creepy since she’s your girlfriend, though!”   
  


“Yeah, okay,” Makoto says, giving her a pouty look, and Kaede can’t help laughing. “Anyway, I put all of the pictures into a photo album. I kept track of when I took all of them, so I was able to label everything accordingly.” He seems a bit nervous, despite the fact that Kaede isn’t even the person he’s giving the gift to. “I hope she likes it. It’s so hard to tell with Kyoko at times.”

“I think she’ll surprise you,” Tsumugi hands Makoto the finished bouquet. “Bellflowers and lilacs are lovely,” smiles the florist. “It would be hard not to be pleased receiving this.”

“Do you know what any of these flowers symbolise?” Makoto asks, and the look Tsumugi gives is tired as she pulls out the book from underneath the counter. Kaede covers her mouth with a hand to conceal her smile and watches the blue-haired woman flip through the pages to the B section. Her movements are very precise, and she handles the book very carefully. It makes Kaede’s chest feel warm to watch her eyelashes brushing against her cheeks when she blinks, and the delicacy with which she turns the pages. A thought occurs to her, that the book might have belonged to Tsumugi’s mother before she passed away (the  _ original  _ Miss Shirogane) and she feels a twinge of sadness. It’s no wonder that she’d be so careful with it.

“Bellflowers represent everlasting love.” Tsumugi reads. “And often they’re given to say thank you.” She smiles when she looks up at Makoto, an odd sparkle in her eye. “Does your girlfriend know a lot about flowers?”

“I don’t think so, but she’s the type of person to do a lot of research about a thing,” Makoto hums. “So I think she’ll probably look into it.”

“Well, I’m sure she’ll be delighted at what she finds out.” Tsumugi says, and for some reason, her smile is directed at Kaede now.


	3. Peko Pekoyama

Peko is an old friend of Kaede’s, back from when she was in college. They didn’t have the same major or anything, and Peko was a junior when she was a freshman, but they still ended up in a lecture together. The class was  _ huge,  _ as was the lecture hall, and when Kaede initially walked in, she didn’t see much of a change that she would make any friends in it, but when the professor eventually assigned them a partnership project… Peko just happened to be sitting close to her.

She liked Peko, though. A lot. She was smart, and quiet, and hardworking, and in a way her temperament reminded her of Shuichi? At any rate, her half of the group project was done so well that Kaede worked twice as hard as she would’ve, wanting to impress her. It worked out pretty well, because in the end, Peko invited her to get coffee, and they didn’t stop talking after that.

They haven’t been talking very regularly at all, as of late, unfortunately. Kaede’s been struggling with her job for the past couple weeks, having recently hit a patch of  _ is this really the right career?  _ (which she knows the answer to is no) and it’s early October, so Peko has been busy too. She works in retail, which Kaede thinks is almost more soul crushing than her office job, and this time of year marks the beginning of the holiday season in many ways, so Peko’s been working her ass off. Kaede understands, which is why she isn’t expecting to hear from her friend for some time.

So it comes as a bit of a surprise to her, admittedly, when she gets a text from Peko while she’s working on her latest composition. Usually she turns off her ringer while she works on music, because she doesn’t get enough time to do it as is and she doesn’t like the constant interruptions from friends who don’t have anything to do with their time other than text her, but she forgets to this time, and her hand instinctively goes over to the phone. She knows that she should just keep working, since picking up her phone during these times is the best way to get distracted, but she’s already rested her index finger on the power button and unlocked the phone by the time those thoughts settle.

Peko’s text reads,

_ [I’m wanting to get Fuyuhiko-] _

(Her fiance and also childhood sweetheart? Kaede hasn’t met him personally but she’s heard a lot about him from Peko and she knows that they’re extremely close.)

_ [-some flowers, as I feel strange about only having been on the receiving end of gifts like that. Do you have any places that you can recommend?] _

Kaede smiles. She hasn’t been to Tsumugi’s since August, when she took Makoto, but it’s funny how many people are coming to her for help on this. Does she seem like someone with a successful romantic life? She hasn’t even gone on a date in over three years, why is she the first person people choose to ask for advice? Well, it’s okay. She doesn’t mind, and anyway, Tsumugi’s flower shop is a good place to take Peko, she thinks, since according to Makoto and Shuichi, the flowers were received well by their partners. (Kiibo in particular, Shuichi described, was ecstatic to be receiving such a nice bouquet, and hearing as much made Kaede smile.)

She shot Peko a text in return:

_ [I know a florist who can help :D] _

To avoid the parking situation this time, Kaede and Peko agree to bus separately and meet up at the shop. It’s Wednesday, a day that they both have off from work, so Kaede reasons that maybe it won’t be so crowded this time, but she just wants to be safe. In the end, it turns out to be a good call; the blocks leading up to the shop are crowded with cars. Some people have even parked illegally, in front of hydrants and the like, in an attempt to get closer to whatever business they’re here for.

It doesn’t make a lot of sense. What could be so popular? Out of curiosity, Kaede walks around the block, looking for any sort of establishment that might be the explanation for the large amounts of people all flocking to the vicinity. Before long, she spots the cause. She’s sure that this is a new business, but there appears to be some kind of… fortune teller shop on the same block? There’s a long line out the door of all sorts of people, young and old, and Kaede frowns, thinking that so many of these people could at least be working right now. Through one of the windows, she spots the presumed fortune teller; an enigmatic looking man with a large head of brown hair. He looks something like a porcupine.

Ugh. What a lame excursion. Fortune telling is all a load of bogus, isn’t it? Kaede shakes her head and walks back around the block. The familiar sight of the large blue  _ “Miss Shirogane’s Flower Shop”  _ sign makes her smile slightly, and she ducks through the door.

A glance at her phone tells her that she’s early. Peko won’t be here for another half hour. She really overestimated how long it would take for her to bus here. She’ll have to keep that in mind for next time. To be fair, though, Kaede doesn’t use public transit often. Oh, she  _ should,  _ of course she should; it’s by all means cheaper and a lot more pleasant than being behind the wheel herself. There are a lot of weird people on the bus, but it’s great for people watching, and sometimes she even gets ideas for songs. It’s just easier to drive, she supposes. Since she has her own car, she feels like she might as well just drive rather than going through the hassle of looking up bus routes. It’s kind of a bad thing, especially for the environment, but Kaede doesn’t have much time in her daily life to worry about it.

She slides her phone back into her pocket and notices that Tsumugi is standing a few feet away from her, leaning against a wall with her arms folded across her chest. Kaede flushes, wondering how long the other woman has been standing there. Last time she saw her, her hair was tied back, but right now it’s loose, tumbling over her shoulders in pretty blue waves. She’s wearing the same black apron as ever, but a beige sweater now, and a dark blue skirt. When she meets Kaede’s gaze, her expression lights up in a smile, and the blonde feels her face warming even further.

“I was wondering when you’d notice me standing here!” Chirps the florist, her disposition radiating cheerfulness. Kaede can’t help smiling when she sees how high spirited Tsumugi seems to be, despite the lingering embarrassment. “It’s fair that you wouldn’t see me at first, though, I am awfully plain.”

“Hey! That isn’t true,” Kaede protests, and the playful look Tsumugi gives her suggests that the florist is only teasing, but she gets the feeling that the other woman does truly think herself to be plain. Which is… pretty contrary to Kaede’s opinion of her, but there isn’t much she can say about it without it being weird. (Sheepishly, Kaede rubs the back of her neck.) “I was just thinking, is all. I probably would have noticed you right away if I hadn’t been distracted.”

“I’m sure.” Tsumugi hums. “Are you here alone today?” She changes the subject quickly, before Kaede can respond to the dry response, and so she is forced to reply to that instead.

“Ahaha, I’m actually meeting a friend, but I got here early.” She stops rubbing her neck but keeps her hand there, looking off to the side. “I still don’t have anybody to get flowers for, y’know? But I don’t really know what I’m going to do for the next half hour.” Kaede sighs. “I guess I can just look around. I still haven’t been through this entire shop before, y’know? And that’s weird since this is my third time coming here.”

“Well, if you’d like to do something with more substance, I have some drinks in the back room, if you’d like me to mix you one.” Tsumugi offers. “Business has been so slow lately that I really doubt anyone is going to get here before your friend does.”

“Drinks?” Kaede’s eyes widen. “So early in the day?”

“Oh, no, I meant non-alcoholic drinks.” Tsumugi smiles. “I used to bartend, before I took over the flower shop, so I know plenty of things. I don’t have a full-fledged bar back there, or anything, but I’m sure it’s more sizable than your average flower shop owner.” Kaede laughs at the joke, and as she quiets down, it occurs to her that she doesn’t know very much about Tsumugi. They’re barely acquaintances, so it’s understandable, but there’s something about the other woman that makes her feel compelled to learn more. Really, she should’ve come back before now, for reasons other than  _ my friend asked me to help her buy flowers.  _ At any rate, the offer is extremely tempting, and there’s no way that Kaede is going to say no.

Tsumugi leads her back past the counter, and before entering the back room, Kaede notices that the space behind the counter is somewhat messy. It’s understandable; having any sort of organisation is sort of overrated, in her opinion. God knows her apartment is a mess. There are loose papers and bits of green stems littering the floor. Kaede’s eyes are drawn to a stool behind the counter, though, and the binder resting open on top of it. It’s packed with papers, and she’s too far away to read any of them, but she can tell that the handwriting on them is messy. A lot of the papers in the binder are stuffed into the pockets, rather than inserted into the rings. Most of them aren’t even hole-punched. It’s extremely rushed, in other words.

She’s probably violating Tsumugi’s privacy. Kaede tears away her gaze and enters the back room behind the blue-haired woman.

It’s a small space, but intimate. Kaede isn’t claustrophobic, and so she doesn’t mind even a little bit. The shop smells like all different kinds of flowers, which makes sense as it’s a flower shop, but the back room smells more mild. A pleasant mix of lemons and honey. There’s an old, worn looking couch near the back wall, and an ironing board off to her right. Atop the ironing board there’s an iron, and also a couple articles of clothing, which Kaede thinks might be in the process of being made, but it’s hard to tell from this distance. Directly to her left is a small sink, and Tsumugi is crouching in front of a tiny refrigerator next to the couch.

“You can sit on the couch, or I have folding chairs behind the board if you’d prefer.” The florist says vaguely. “What about some coffee? Do you think it’s too late in the day for a cup?” She looks back at Kaede, a teasing smile on her face, and the blonde laughs.

“I’m good for coffee at almost any time of day,” she assures, and watches as Tsumugi straightens up, a carton of creamer in her hand. She appreciates the sight, because she has never been a fan of coffee without a bit of cream to dilute it. It’s too bitter, too intense. Kaede can’t really handle things like that.

Tsumugi walks up to the sink, where a coffee pot is plugged into the wall, and opens the cupboard overhead, pulling out a can of coffee. Kaede wonders if she brewed a lot of coffee working at a bar. It would probably depend on how early the bar was she worked at opened, huh? It’s not strange for bars to offer coffee, is it? Has Kaede really become so much of a recluse that she doesn’t remember anything about  _ bars?  _ That can’t be right, she went drinking with the girls just last-

Oh. Looks like she needs to call Miu sometime soon. (Kaede slowly sinks down to sit on the couch.) They haven’t talked in a while and Miu is probably the main driving force in her social life. The only people Kaede has been talking to regularly as of late have been Makoto, because they tend to leave the house at the same time for work, and her boss. Shuichi texts her periodically too, but she doesn’t count it over text unless she’s the one consciously starting the interaction. Yikes, when did that happen? No wonder she feels so drained all the time.

“Hey,” Kaede speaks up, to distract herself from her thoughts. “Did you like working at a bar, Tsumugi?”

“Hm, that’s a good question.” Tsumugi doesn’t look away from her task. “Do you want cream and sugar, or just one or the other?”

  
“Oh, just cream is fine!” Kaede answers quickly. Part of her wonders if the question is a diversion, so that Tsumugi doesn’t have to give her a real reply, but then the other woman keeps speaking.

“I think I liked working at a bar more than I like working here.” She sounds thoughtful, not moody or defensive, so Kaede doesn’t feel guilty for prying. Not immediately, anyway. “Flowers were my mom’s passion, you know? And I’m a good bartender, so I felt confident in what I was doing.” Tsumugi extends a finger and presses the brew button on the machine before turning around and meeting Kaede’s eyes. “I had a lot of friends there, too. I don’t know if I’d have wanted to bartend forever, though. It’s far from a passion of mine, even if I’m good at it.”

“Do you not like working here?” Immediately, Kaede is struck by how  _ personal  _ of a question it is, but already the word has come out of her mouth, and she knows that she can’t just suck it back in. “You seem to know your way around pretty well.” She doesn’t want to ask Tsumugi to talk about her mother. Based on the way she talks about it, it’s fairly likely that her mother didn’t pass away all that recently, but even so. It has to be a sensitive topic, regardless of how flippant the blue-haired woman is about it, and they just plain don’t know each other very well.

Tsumugi hardly blinks an eye. “I don’t mind it.” She says casually. “Spending so much time here reminds me of my mom, and it really is nice to feel closer to her. We weren’t all that close when she was alive, you know. I feel as though I owe her to keep the shop up and running.” A tad bit more tightly, she adds, “That’s been a bit more difficult as of late, though, just because… well, you don’t need to hear about that.” The coffee pot beeps behind her, and she turns around, producing a mug from the cupboard and filling it part of the way with the black liquid. The smell of coffee fills the space, and Kaede smiles a bit at it, but her mind is caught on what Tsumugi said about running the shop being difficult. What could she mean by that?

Before she can gather her thoughts and ask the other woman to elaborate, the brass bell on the door jingles, and Kaede gets to her feet. That must be Peko. She glances at her phone; it’s a bit before their scheduled meeting time, but Peko is the kind of person to show up five or so minutes before something is supposed to start. She’s responsible in that way.

After a moment of silence, Tsumugi hands her the mug. “You can give it back to me when you’re done.” Her smile, Kaede notices without saying anything, is more guarded than she’s seen thus far.

The bouquet that Peko puts together is fiery. It has a surplus of bright yellows and vivid, passionate oranges. Kaede notices marigolds, which Shuichi chose last time, and while Tsumugi is adding greenery and ringing it up, she identifies yellow carnations, begonias (both yellow and orange), and gerbera daisies.

“The begonias are so pretty,” Kaede remarks, though her attention is fixed on Tsumugi’s hands, which skillfully tie the bouquet and wrap it with a nice, pale yellow wax paper. “Does Fuyuhiko like yellow, Peko?”

“I hope so,” the silver-haired woman replies, and with a smile that touches her red eyes, she adds, “I’m kidding, it’s one of his favourite colours. He also likes green, but I thought that this colour combination was too nice to pass up.”

“I hope your Fuyuhiko isn’t too much of a flower freak,” smiles Tsumugi.

“Oh, he isn’t. He got me roses when he confessed.” The smile Peko is wearing suggests that she was extremely pleased by it, though, so Kaede can’t help mirroring the expression as her gaze returns to Tsumugi for an explanation.

“That’s good to hear. I was reading up on it last night, you know. Yellow carnations symbolise disappointment.” With a slight laugh, Tsumugi shakes her head. “But begonias represent good communication, so at least you have that going for you.”

“I’m sure Fuyuhiko will appreciate the irony,” Peko tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and Kaede looks back at Tsumugi, trying to figure out if there’s something lurking beneath that thoughtful expression on her face.


	4. Miu Iruma

The reason why Kaede ends up dragging Miu to Tsumugi’s flower shop comes up, as things often do, at around two in the morning, when Miu is effectively drunk on sleep deprivation, and needs a ride home from her work place, because she lost track of time working again, so of course the first person she calls is Kaede.

When Kaede shifts her car into neutral and rolls down the window, she can’t help sighing a bit at the sheepish (and also exhausted) look on her best friend’s face. It’s not really Miu’s fault. She can be extremely brainless at times. And unlike almost every other one of Kaede’s friends, Miu is actually working her  _ dream  _ job, in a lab, on robots. She’s working with Kiibo, actually, Shuichi’s partner, but it makes a bit of sense that they’d end up in the same workplace because while they were all friends in high school, Miu and Kiibo were  _ best  _ friends. The kind of best friends that is extremely  _ hard  _ to replicate no matter how nice your college pals are.

Only once they’re on the highway does Kaede break the silence. “Why didn’t you call your girlfriend? You know I’m always available to give you a ride if you need one, but Kirumi has a car too, and since you live together it’s probably a bit more convenient.” She gives Miu a sideways look. It’s not common for the other woman to be so quiet. Usually she’d have broken the silence by now, but her gaze has been fixed out the window. The freeway is nicer at night. There are less cars, and they’re just surrounded by all the lights of the city. Kaede likes to roll down the windows sometimes and just feel all the wind from driving fast. She won’t do that now, though, not with Miu in the car.

“We haven’t talked in for-fucking-ever, Ka-idiot.” Scoffs Miu in response, blue eyes shifting over to land on Kaede. She chuckles in response, but focuses on the road. “I hear you never go outside these days, what’s with that?”

November isn’t her favourite month to be outside, really. It’s just awfully cold and Kaede has never been good at being in the cold. That might be a bit of a lie, actually. She likes winter plenty, and she loves the  _ snow.  _ There’s something so quiet and peaceful about the way everything becomes under a blanket of white. What she mostly hates is the feeling of suddenly being in the cold again after getting herself acclimated to the heat of July and August. By the time January rolls around, and the thick sweater of grey clouds with it, she’s had plenty of time to get adjusted to the chill. But November is difficult as a general rule.

Of course, that’s not why she’s been staying outside recently, and Miu knows it. “You’re focusing way too hard on that piano shit, y’know? I bet your sex drive is totally dead by now with how little of the outside world you’ve been exposed to! Unless you’ve secretly been in there masturba-”

“It’s nothing like that, Miu!” Kaede exclaims, feeling her face heat up. The other woman cackles, and Kaede sighs. Miu has always been and always will be one of her best friends, but the constant sex jokes can be exhausting. It’s only because Miu lacks a filter, and Kaede understands that, but she still can’t help getting a bit exasperated at times. “You’re right about the piano thing,” she laughs slightly. “I just get so caught up in what I’m doing that I forget to have a social life, haha.”

“You shouldn’t forget that kind of thing, you know,” Kaede sees Miu frown out of the corner of her eye and focuses harder on the road. “It’s like, not healthy, and you’re pale as fuck.” After a moment, the other blonde sighs. “Anyway, I wanna do something for Kirumi.”

“Oh?” Glad for the change in topic, Kaede is immediately curious about what Miu is going to say. She shoots the other woman a smile. “What kind of something?”

“Damn, I dunno! A gift or some shit! I was like, gonna make her something, but that wouldn’t really cost any money, y’know? And she’s always buying me all sorts of really great shit, and I want to show how much I appreciate it! I mean, it’s not like I’m  _ not  _ gonna make her something, but I make her things all the time and I want it to be special!” Miu is talking extremely quickly, but Kaede is used to it. She talks like that whenever she gets nervous. “But I don’t know what to get her? I mean, she gets me a lot of flowers, which is great, but I don’t even know where I would buy flowers. The grocery store has some, but those are cheap as hell, and I know she’s always going to a whole-ass-real-fucking flower shop to get me shit, and I’m not about to buy her some crappy fake-ass bouquet of roses.”

_ Whole-ass-real-fucking.  _ Kaede suppresses the urge to smile. “I know a place you can go.” She says.

“Awh, no shit?” Miu sits up straight. “Damn, Ka-idiot, I knew I kept you around for something!” Kaede rolls her eyes. “Okay! Let’s go right now!”

“Huh? Miu, it’s two-” she looks at the clock in her car. “Two thirty in the morning! They’re closed!”

Miu slumps down, disappointed. “Damn, guess it’ll have to wait until tomorrow. You’re not working tomorrow, right? Your boss doesn’t have you do shit on Sundays since he’s too busy sucking Jesus’ large co-”

“Miu!” Kaede protests, her face burning. Miu cackles. Resigned, Kaede says, “I have tomorrow off. How about I drop by at noon and we take the bus together?”

“Take the bus?” Miu sounds baffled. “Why not just drive? Are you turning into some sort’a preachy environmentalist type? You drive a Prius!”

This makes Kaede snort. (To begin with, she has a very vague understanding of the environmental ramifications of driving a Prius.) Beyond that, though, Miu will know exactly why they’re taking public transit tomorrow. “Just be ready to go at noon.” She says, and pulls off the freeway. “With bus fare and money for the flowers. Expect for them to be expensive. I’ll be there.”

It’s about twelve thirty when they get off the bus near the flower shop. Kaede smiles to herself upon observing the wide-eyed way that Miu is taking in all of the parked cars on the surrounding blocks. She’s pretty used to it by now, but the effect that it has on her friend isn’t lost on her. It would be pretty startling to see this again for the first time, Kaede thinks. Just as startling as it would be if she came here and the surrounding blocks were completely empty.

They walk in silence for a moment before Miu says, “This flower shop must be uhh… pretty fuckin’ popular, huh?”

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” Kaede’s expression tightens as they move past a little kid, holding hands with his mother and walking down the block. “All the traffic is for a fortune teller on the block, can you believe it?” She scoffs, shaking her head. “I think it’s really terrible for Tsumugi’s business!”

“Ohh, so you and Miss Shirogane have a first-name-basis kind of relationship, eh?” Miu smirks. “You’ve fucked her already? You’ve been holding out on me, Kaede!”

“You know who else is on a first-name-basis with Tsumugi?” Kaede asks flatly. “Your girlfriend.”

“Eeee! Okay! Okay!” Miu raises her hands in surrender. “You don’t go easy, do you?” She sniffles, and Kaede smiles begrudgingly, knowing that if Miu was actually hurt, she would say so. It’s a bit scary the lengths that Miu used to go to to get even the slightest bit of attention, regardless of whether it was good attention or bad attention, but after finishing puberty and exiting high school and getting her master’s degree early, her self esteem is remarkably higher than it once was. Plus, between them, Kaede’s always strived to have healthy communication and open conversations. It can be difficult as hell at times, but the payoff is great.

“Not after eleven years, Miu,” Kaede replies, and takes care to open the door for her when they arrive. The sound of the brass bell is almost familiar now, and it makes her smile in a way that feels alien on her face. Kaede smiles a lot, over just as many stupid things as things that she should actually be smiling about, but smiling over the associating with Tsumugi hits different, somehow, in a way that’s difficult for her to describe.

Tsumugi doesn’t pop up until Miu’s collected about half of the flowers that she wants for her bouquet. The colours that she gravitates towards are the greens, especially the lighter coloured ones, and she’s looking at a bunch labeled “green star gladiolus” when Tsumugi’s high voice greets them.

“Hello, Kaede,” and when Kaede turns around, she raises her eyebrows slightly. “I’m sorry I couldn’t greet you at the door, I was on the phone in the back.”

Kaede doesn’t know what to say at first. She doesn’t want to be rude (especially not to Tsumugi) but the florist looks… exhausted. Her blue hair is tied in a low ponytail today, and her oval glasses, seated crooked on her nose, magnify deep purple rings underneath her eyes. Her skin looks awfully pallid, more so than it has the past couple times Kaede came, and in the dim lights of the flower shop her skin takes on an unnatural, almost frightening complexion. She’s dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans, but she still has an almost disheveled quality to her look that Kaede just can’t turn away from.

Of course, Miu seems to notice too, but thankfully, this time she seems to manage to hold her tongue. “I get it.” She responds promptly. “It’s hard to put down the phone when the phone sex is that good, even for paying customers.”

“Miu!” Kaede can’t help sounding a bit scandalised. “She doesn’t mean that, Tsumugi, she just-”

“I assumed it was a joke.” Tsumugi smiles. “Is this the Miu that Kirumi is always talking about?” Kaede nods once, and the blue-haired woman hums. “You know, when I wondered if I was ever going to get to meet you, I thought it would be because your girlfriend took you to visit, not because you’re planning on buying flowers yourself.”

“What? Can’t a woman buy a fucking bouquet for her fucking girlfriend?” Kaede sighs. There really is no stopping Miu when she gets going, though this particular jab is probably due to defensiveness rather than a specific desire to be vulgar.

“Oh, you certainly can!” Tsumugi smiles, her tone placating. “It’s only that, from what Kirumi has told me about you, I assumed that you weren’t the kind of person to spring for these types of gifts. She spoke very fondly of your inventions, you know.”

Miu blinks. “This is a mistake, I’m going against everything she knows of me.” She states. “I better make her a fuckin’ sex toy, or something.”

“Miu,  _ no,”  _ Kaede intervenes, putting a hand on Miu’s shoulder. “It’s a nice gesture  _ because  _ she won’t expect you to do it. It doesn’t stop being a nice gesture because she doesn’t think it’s in your nature. You wanted to express your appreciation for the ways that Kirumi makes you feel loved. If this is the first thing that popped into your head, you should go through with it.”

“Eee, but, if she likes the inventions enough to talk about them to the flower lady…” Miu trails off.

“She definitely wasn’t talking about sex toys,” Tsumugi says vaguely. “Although she also wasn’t being very specific? So maybe that was what she was implying and I was blind to the subtext.”

“We’re already here, anyway.” Kaede urges, and Miu thinks for another moment before nodding. Her confident smile returns, albeit with a moment’s pause, and Kaede feels the stress fading from her chest. She’s not sure why the sudden desire on Miu’s part to change her mind made her go on defense-mode. Maybe it’s just the thought of the lack of business that Tsumugi’s had as of late that made her nervous. But that kind of reaction is a bit of uncalled for, isn’t it? Miu is awfully wishy washy, anyhow, so a bit of a push in the right direction (in any direction) isn’t a bad thing.

A few pale yellow flowers end up scattered throughout the bouquet amongst the green, and Kaede takes a moment to appreciate the fact that so many of her friends have added yellow into their bunches. It’s such an underrated colour considering that it goes so well with so many things. Truly a powerhouse of a shade.

“So, flower lady,” Miu prompts while she and Kaede watch Tsumugi tie the bouquet with twine. “Do you know anything about the meanings of these flowers?”

“My name is Tsumugi,” says Tsumugi. “And no, but I can find some things out.” She places down the flowers and disappears beneath the counter. When she reemerges, it’s with that large book of flower meanings, and it occurs to Kaede that they still haven’t sat down and just leafed through it for a while. The thought makes her sad, for some reason, even though she knows that she’ll probably have another chance to come back eventually, and she can do it then. “Gladiolus represents infatuation,” she reads. “And the calla lilies, which you have here, represent… uh…” Tsumugi squints. “Religious devotion.”

“Oh.” Miu blinks. “Maybe I just won’t tell her that one, then.”   
  


“I doubt Kirumi is intimately familiar with flower meanings to the point where she’ll recognise this one on sight.” Tsumugi smiles, and Kaede thinks,  _ she looks so exhausted.  _ “So you’re good.”


	5. Kaito Momota

December is Kaede’s favourite month.

Her birthday is in March, which makes it a close second, but December is absolutely wonderful. The bite in the air finally gets comfortable, and all the trees have lost their leaves, and people have finally started putting up their Christmas lights. Walking around at night is always delightful, basking in the red and green glow from all the houses and feeling the chill of the approaching winter breeze. Being downtown especially is her favourite thing to do, amidst the hustle and bustle of people trying to get gifts and the sound of Christmas songs playing… it just has good energy, that’s all.

She likes it too because it’s been giving her a constant excuse to be outside and shop for presents, rather than be cooped up in her apartment, and working on sheet music that she’s never going to share with anybody. Honestly, since finishing her most recent piece (“An Ode to Yellow Carnations”) she hasn’t worked on any new music. It’s not that she hasn’t gotten any new ideas; Kaede is  _ constantly  _ getting new ideas. But she likes being outside more than she likes being inside, and it’s a bit shameful, but she’s kind of started associating working on her music with hiding away inside. It’s like her social life deteriorates every time she tries to do what she loves. She hasn’t even touched a piano in the past couple of weeks.

(Her fingers have been twitching to do so a lot more as of late, so she figures it’s only a matter of time before she breaks and plays a couple tunes, but she doubts she’s going to look at any of her compositions for a while.)

It’s nice being outside, and surrounded by her friends. It’s really easy to be distracted while she’s spending time with them, too. Miu is so loud and rambunctious, and Shuichi is such a good conversational partner, it’s hard to stress out around them. Kiibo is enthusiastic in the best of ways, and Kirumi is startlingly funny, and she’s even grabbed coffee with Peko and Fuyuhiko recently. (Fuyuhiko is a lot shorter than she thought she’d be.) The other night she had Makoto and Kyoko, his girlfriend, over for dinner, and Makoto mentioned that Kyoko will be moving in with him.

Which is exciting news, in Kaede’s opinion. Kyoko is extremely pretty, and when she smiled once that night, it was an extremely mysterious smile that Kaede immediately found herself wanting to see more often. For someone who smiles as much as Makoto does, she thinks that they’re a good fit, and she’s happy that she’ll be seeing them around together a lot more.

Despite all of that, Kaede hasn’t been able to get her mind off of Tsumugi. She hasn’t been by the flower shop since taking Miu, but she feels bombarded by constant reminders of how exhausted the florist was when she went in last time. She’s been wondering if it has something to do with what she said about it being more difficult to keep the shop up and running. And of course she’s been thinking a lot about that binder that she saw, too, and what could possibly be in it. Those papers seemed far too messy to be anything pertaining to flower sales. But what could they be?

She’s kind of been looking for an excuse to head back. Realistically Kaede knows that she could swing by whenever she wants, if she really wanted to that much, but every time she drives by on her way to and from work there isn’t a single parking space to be seen, and on her days off she usually has plans with friends. Which means that she hasn’t had a lot of opportunities to really go. If she felt desperate about it, she could just  _ make  _ space to pop by, but it feels a bit silly to be desperate over someone who she’s met four times. Sure, Tsumugi made her coffee that one time, and it was excellent, and she’s extremely pretty and she has this compelling aura of impassivity that just makes Kaede want to get closer and learn more, but… she’s probably reading too much into what she saw. She has off days too, the ones where she stayed up way too late the night before, so it wouldn’t be reasonable to think that Tsumugi was just a bit tired that day, and nothing else was going on.

That doesn’t stop Kaede from taking the first opportunity that presents itself, though.

When Kaede was in primary school, her best friend (aside from her twin sister, obviously) was named Kaito Momota. Honestly, he had pretty much every trait that Kaede currently detests in men, but he has all the positive traits too, and he was always such a fun person to be around. They went to different middle schools, and subsequently different high schools, but they ended up reconnecting through Shuichi, who dated him in college. Shuichi and Kaito broke up- clearly, since Shuichi is dating Kiibo now- but they’re still on good terms, and it’s been great rekindling their relationship since then.

Something that Kaito seems to bring with him everywhere, though, is  _ conflict,  _ and conflict he does. Kaito works at a coffee shop, which is a perfectly normal profession (though Kaito has always boasted about wanting to go to space, so presumably that’s his endgame?) but one of his coworkers is a guy named Kokichi Ouma. Kaede was distantly acquainted with him in high school? Meaning that he transferred to their school in the third year and was really rude to her so she stopped trying to associate with him early on. But for some reason, Kaito seems to have taken to the (shit gremlin) guy, and he ends up popping up on a lot of their social outings.

Kaede doesn’t even really understand why? Kaito and Kokichi are  _ hardly  _ friends. Half of the outings that Kokichi comes along on are wasted away with incessant arguments between the two. Sometimes Kokichi can be really smart, and it seems like he really cares about Kaito in a weird, backwards way? But trying to understand him (or worse, the relationship he has with Kaito) always gives Kaede a headache, so she’s stopped trying. She’s also stopped trying to avoid Kokichi, though. He’s pretty childish, and all of her attempts to duck away from interacting with him have been met with hard resistance.

This relates to Kaede’s internal debate with the flower shop because, surprise surprise, Kaito and Kokichi get into an argument.

She’s really not sure how it comes about. One second they’re all sitting at the bar, listening to some weird American Christmas song about kissing Santa Claus, and the next Kaito and Kokichi are yelling about something. Well, alright. Kaito is yelling, and Kokichi is provoking him. Kaito is unfortunately extremely easy to provoke, and it seems like provoking people is one of Kokichi’s favourite pastimes. It’s obnoxious. Kaede isn’t a huge drinker, since she doesn’t have a very good alcohol tolerance, and so she generally ends up the designated driver (as she is now) but she sometimes wishes she wasn’t, so that she could get extremely hammered and tune these guys out.

The shouting calms down quickly, because Kaito has a short fuse but he doesn’t ever rage particularly hard as far as Kokichi is concerned, and for moment there’s quiet.

Then Kokichi pouts, crosses his arms, and says, “You’re so mean. I’m totally not gonna forgive you for yelling at me like that.”

“Aw, c’mon, Kokichi,” Kaito looks pained.

“He’s gonna make Kaito say the s-word.” Shuichi whispers, and Kaede chokes on her Pepsi.

“Nope! No way.” Kokichi purses his lips. “Neeeever gonna forgive you. You’re such a bully!”

There’s a tense moment of silence, and then Kaito grits out, “Fine, I’m sorry, man.” He always sounds so forced whenever he has to apologise, it’s a bit funny. Kaede feels like laughing right now would only make things harder, and Kaito  _ is  _ kind of her best friend, so she stays quiet and waits for Kokichi to reply.

“Hmph! Not good enough. If you reeaally want me to forgive you, then you need to do something crazy and homoerotic!” ...what? “You should buy me a present to apologise!”

“A present! For yelling at you at a bar?” Kaito sounds horrified. “Isn’t that a little far to go for an apology?”

“Do you want to be back in my good graces or not?” Kokichi frowns.

“He was in your good graces to begin with?” Kiibo asks incredulously. They’re frowning, but it seems like they’re more concerned by the inconsistency of Kokichi’s opinion of Kaito than the actual situation. Which is fair; this is kind of business as usual for those two, aside from the whole present thing, and Kaede is pretty sure that  _ that  _ is just Kokichi being a brat.

“What would I even get you?” Kaito sighs, as if he’s actually considering it. When he asks, though, Kaede perks up, because an idea occurs to her.

“I dunno, something romantic! Like a box of chocolates, or a new set of LED lightbulbs!”

“How the fuck are  _ lightbulbs-”  _ Miu starts to say.

  
“Romantic!” Kaito repeats. (Miu squeals, having been cut off, and Kirumi pats her on the shoulder.) “Why am I getting you something romantic?” His face has turned bright red, though whether that’s due to embarrassment or indignation, Kaede really can’t tell. At any rate, before Kokichi can continue, she decides to intervene.

“What about flowers?” Both Kokichi and Kaito look over at her when she says it, and the weight of both of their gazes is admittedly a little bit intense, but she smiles through it, a sheepish laugh bubbling in her throat. “I know a good flower shop on my way to work, I could take you sometime if you’re free.”

“I dunno if I’m willing to go that far to apologise to this guy,” Kaito frowns, giving Kokichi a side eye. Kokichi seems like he’s about to burst into tears, but Miu interjects before that can happen.

“Ka-idiot is trying to get into the flower lady’s pants! You’d better go with her and be a good wingman!” Miu crosses her arms. “Besides, you’re way too quick to yell at the little shit. Maybe he deserves some flowers.”

“Oh, Miu!” Kokichi throws himself into Miu’s arms. “I knew I could count on you!”

“Eeeee! Get off of me, you shota twink!”

“Kaede,” Kiibo says, angling their body so that they’re looking directly at Kaede, rather than at Kokichi and Miu. Which takes a good deal of effort considering how difficult they are to ignore. “If your intentions are, erm, promiscuous in nature, then maybe you ought to consider visiting alone? I doubt Kaito really wants to witness that sort of thing.”

“No!” Kaede pouts. “It’s nothing like that, you need to put it through the Miu filter!” She huffs, crossing her arms. “I’m just worried about Tsumugi- the woman who owns the shop- is all, and I haven’t been by in a while, so I want to check on her.” She hesitates, and then adds, “And maybe I am sort of looking for an excuse to go visit. It just feels weird walking in without a good reason! It’s not like I exactly have anybody to buy flowers for!”

“Other than her, you mean.” Kirumi says politely, and sips from her glass of water. (She’s the other designated driver.)

Kaede flushes, and protests, “It would be stupid to go to someone’s flower shop to buy  _ them  _ flowers! Besides, she seemed so stressed last time I was there, she probably doesn’t have any time for romance right now.”   
  


There’s a beat of silence, wherein Kaede is thrown a number of knowing looks that she deflects with all of her deflecting powers, and then eventually Kaito breaks it by saying, “Hell, alright. Let’s go to the flower shop. I’ll get Kokichi the damn flowers.” He shoots the man in question a brooding look. “You’re gonna owe me so much for this.”

Kokichi giggles in return, and twirls a piece of his hair between two of his fingers.

Kaito works weekends, unfortunately, and his days off are Thursdays and Fridays (both of which Kaede has work for) so they’re not able to meet up until after his shift the following Wednesday. It’s not that bad, though; Kaito is off work at four, and the cafe where he works isn’t all that far from the flower shop. She ends up picking him up this time, and driving there, because even though she’s fully expecting for the block to be packed with cars, she doesn’t want to ask Kaito to take the bus after a day of customer service. Working an office job is terrible enough; just like Peko’s retail gig, working at a cafe is probably absolutely draining.

Today, however, as Kaede pulls up around the corner, she sees that the surrounding blocks are mostly empty. She takes the car around in front of the fortune teller’s shop, just out of curiosity, and sees that they’re closed. Huh. Guess today is an off day for them, or something. Maybe the teller is particularly busy in December. It doesn’t make much of a difference to Kaede, though. She finds a parking spot on the same block as the flower shop and shifts gears into park, pulling her key out of the ignition.

“I don’t spend a lot of time in this area,” Kaito remarks. When Kaede glances at him, he’s grinning out the window. “It’s kind of a neat experience, actually!” He pumps a fist. “It’s like an adventure!” With that proclamation, Kaito hops out of the car, leaving Kaede to follow him with a breathy laugh. He said the exact same kind of things back when they were in primary school, though back then it was a lot more fitting considering that they were so young.

She locks the car doors and leads Kaito down the block to the flower shop. The awning is a deep green, and she recognises it immediately, smiling to herself. It really is a nice colour for a flower shop.

When she and Kaito arrive at the front, though, a cold, heavy block of cement lodges itself in her stomach the moment her eyes land on the white sign up in the window:

_ UNDER CONSTRUCTION. _

Beneath it, there’s a piece of paper, and someone has written in green sharpie:

_ “Hello! If you’re one of my regulars, I’m very sorry to close on such short notice :( _

_ I should have been more direct about it but I’ve been trying to negotiate, haha. It must be a combination of the lack of business, and property taxes going up, but unfortunately this space has been bought. I may reopen somewhere else, but…” _

The note goes on to explain a number of other details that feel arbitrary to Kaede. Her eyes glaze over and before she knows it, she’s reached the bottom, which is signed,  _ Miss Shirogane (Tsumugi!)  _ with a little drawing of a flower next to it. She looks past the note and through the window, and sees that the store seems… empty. The walls have been stripped and the floor is messy, with little bits of drywall and flower steps littering the space. There are a number of construction tools scattered throughout the space, but Kaede loses the desire to keep looking after what’s going on sinks in.

The shop has been bought. It’s gone.

“This is the place, isn’t it?” Kaede can’t see Kaito’s face, because she isn’t looking at him, but she can hear the frown in his voice. She nods numbly, and feels his arm curl around her shoulders. “Shit, Kaede, I’m sorry.”

She doesn’t know what he’s apologising for. She’s only been there four times. And she didn’t even know Tsumugi all that well. Her being gone… shouldn’t make much of a difference in her life.

“C’mon, forget the flowers, I’ll get Kokichi something else. Why don’t you give me your keys and I take you to get some hot cocoa? It’s been getting colder recently.” Kaito squeezes her arm, and Kaede swallows hard. She should listen to him. This shouldn’t even be hitting so hard. It’s not as though the flower shop was even a big part of her life.

But… it always felt, in a weird way, like a pocket dimension, or a different universe that she could go to to escape. Somewhere she could conceivably go at any time to immerse herself in the scent of flowers and the sound of Tsumugi’s voice. It never felt like something that would just disappear.

_ It must be a combination of the lack of business… _

She should have known. Kaede shakes her head, furiously, and looks up at Kaito. He’s giving her a concerned look, which means she’s probably been silent for too long. She bites her lip and forces herself to nod yes. “Yeah, that sounds nice,” she says, and they both ignore how very hoarse her voice comes out.


	6. Tsumugi Shirogane

It’s mid-January when all the chill in the air finally reaches a boiling point (erm, so to speak) and snow starts to fall from the sky. It comes down so heavily overnight that work is cancelled the following day, and Kaede spends a large part of her morning sitting in the kitchen and sipping from a mug of coffee. From that seat, she has a good view of her entire living room; her piano, and the coffee table where all of her unfinished compositions are resting, untouched as they have been for the past month and a half. She isn’t thinking about those, though. She’s thinking that she needs more half and half, because those little creamer packets she got for free at the office are absolutely terrible, and maybe the grocery store is open for a little bit, so she can justify making the trip?   
  


Mostly, though, she just wants to get outside into the snow. Kaede places her mug back on its coaster and shuffles back down the hall and into her room. It’s a small apartment, with just one bedroom and subsequently one bathroom, but she’s the only one living in it, so she doesn’t mind. She pulls on a sweater over the tank top she slept in last night, and a thick pair of pants (and socks!) before exiting her room again, her phone and wallet already tucked into her pocket. She doesn’t wear her parka too often, but she likes that she’s getting to wear it now. After pulling it over her shoulders, she dons gloves, a hat, a scarf, and boots before grabbing her keys and slipping out of the apartment.

Everyone must be choosing to sleep in today, because the apartment lobby is empty. Kaede kind of likes the quiet. When she gets outside, all she can hear is the snow crunching underneath her boots. One look at the uncleared roads and she decides not to drive today. She could use the exercise, and anyway, she wants to be outside and walking in this weather, if she’s being honest with herself. It’s been a while since she’s seen the snow.

The holiday season is effectively over, so for the most part all the lights and decorations have been taken down, but all the quiet is reminiscent to Kaede of Christmas morning, before anybody else has woken up. When she was younger, and still lived with her parents, she and her sister would try to stay up all night to catch Santa Claus. (When they finally did, it was understandably disappointing, but that’s beside the point.) They would always succumb to their exhaustion eventually, though, and when they woke up again, for the brief moment before they both rushed downstairs to their presents, everything would be quiet.

That’s how this feels, Kaede decides. She reaches down with one gloved hand and grabs a fistful of snow, squeezing the white powder and watching it spill from between her fingers. Some of it sticks to the cotton, and she gazes at it as it melts, leaving a tiny wet spot on the glove. It’ll inconvenience her later, when the thrill of being out in the snow again wears off and she gets cold, but for now, it brings a smile to her face.

The grocery store near her apartment complex is closed, but a quick Google search tells her that there’s one not too far of a walk away, so Kaede shrugs and starts off. She’s going a bit far for some half and half, which she could procure later, when the snow has melted enough for the world to start back up again, but she likes the quiet. The peacefulness of the outside world that is so different from the oppressive solitude of her little apartment. She likes being by herself, but she likes it more like this, where the silence is freeing, and not deafening. The air always smells so much sweeter when it snows.

As she walks, Kaede realises that the route is going to take her awfully close to the place where Tsumugi’s flower shop used to be. The building has been under construction for a while, now, though Kaede understands that it’s going to be made into a bar of sorts, once they finish with everything. For some reason the thought brings a bitter taste to her mouth. (Though she probably feels unhappy about it because Tsumugi was a bartender before her mother passed away, and making a bar there would be like rubbing salt in a wound.) She hasn’t seen the blue-haired woman since. Honestly, when the note was removed and all traces of the shop that used to be there vanished, it… started to feel like Tsumugi never existed in the first place, outside of Kaede’s memories.

Which are getting dimmer and dimmer as the days go by, but nonetheless.

She doesn’t have any reason to actually pass by the property. She imagines that doing so would only make her sad. Kaede quickens her pace a little bit, no longer consumed by happy thoughts about how pleasant all the quiet is, and hopes that she will pass by the premises without catching a glimpse of the building that used to belong to her friend.

Kaede stops, however, because she thinks that she sees a flash of blue. Her gaze lifts from the ground and her head swivels automatically, one of her hands flying from her pocket to rest on her chest. She looks around wildly, half convinces that she was imagining things, but then she realises what she saw.

A clump of white snow slips from that green awning, but it’s batted away before it can fall onto Tsumugi’s head. Her blue hair is tied in a loose fishtail braid, and she’s not wearing a hat, but she does appear to be wearing earmuffs. She’s facing the building, and not Kaede, who is standing across the street, so her face is hidden, but… it appears as though she’s holding something.

Without taking a moment to think about it, Kaede runs across the street. Usually she wouldn’t jaywalk, but her heart seems to be acting on its own, and suddenly she’s standing right behind Tsumugi, trying to catch her breath.

“Hey,” she manages to say, sucking in the dry, crisp air, and Tsumugi turns around. She doesn’t look surprised, rather, incredulous, and in her hands, she’s holding a bouquet of flowers.

Yellow carnations, actually.

“Sorry, am I disturbing you?” Kaede asks, realising that there’s only really one reason why Tsumugi would be standing out in front of her mother’s old flower shop with a bouquet of flowers (especially considering what those flowers represent) and suddenly regretting her decision to interrupt her. She doesn’t have any impulse control, it’s always been a problem of hers, and now she’s here, standing in front of the other woman, and-

“No, not at all.” Smiles Tsumugi. Her voice sounds a bit distant, but her smile seems genuine. She tilts her head to the side. “I haven’t seen you around in a while, Kaede.”   
  


“I came by,” Kaede blurts, and feels rather silly in doing so. “More than once, uhm-” she breaks off. “I saw the note you left on the window, and watched the construction workers take it down two weeks ago,” she clears her throat. “Not that I’ve been stalking the place, or anything, I just, I pass it on my way to work.” God, why does she feel so nervous? Tsumugi’s gaze is the opposite of heavy, or anxiety inducing. She seems gentle, and in fact happy to see her, so why is Kaede’s heart threatening to fold in on itself?   
  


“I wouldn’t mind, you know.” Tsumugi hums. “If you have been stalking this place, that is. I know that I have.” She averts her gaze, and Kaede notices that her glasses are a bit foggy. “Isn’t it silly? I didn’t even like running this shop.” Her tone is very, very flat, in a way that Kaede has never heard before. “I’ve always wanted to be a seamstress, did I tell you that?” No, she didn’t, but…

Kaede recalls stepping into the back room, and seeing that ironing board, with the partially finished clothing on top. It makes  _ sense. _

“But when my mom died, I felt like I had to take over the flower shop because it was all I had left of her. Other people offered to run it in my stead, my father did, but I’ve never been close to him, and I didn’t want him to take this from us. From me.” Her voice shakes a little bit, like she has never said any of this before, and for the first time Kaede wonders if maybe, possibly, Tsumugi is just as (if not more) lonely as she is. “I wanted to hold on to her. She loved the shop. And the flowers. I thought maybe working there would make me feel closer to her.”

“...and then you lost it,” says Kaede quietly, and Tsumugi’s responding smile is bitter.

“And then I lost it,” she agrees. Her voice is faint. “They still send me flowers sometimes, you know, the suppliers of the shop? I think they feel bad for me.” She holds up the carnations. “I don’t think they know what these ones mean, or else they wouldn’t have sent them, but I had a good laugh over it.”

Even though Tsumugi is smiling, Kaede somehow gets the impression that the blue-haired woman didn’t laugh at all. The silence that stretches between them feels like it lasts a million years. A million million years, even. It’s long and uncomfortable and far, far too heavy, but Kaede doesn’t know what to say. What she could even say, that would properly express to the other woman the exact feelings that she’s experiencing in this moment. It’s sad, all of this is, that’s the long and the short of it. But sad doesn’t feel like the right word to use. It doesn’t feel appropriate, or sensitive, or… or anything, really, that it would have to be for Kaede to be allowed to say it in response to what she’s just heard.

Because in a way, she kind of already figured everything Tsumugi just told her. It isn’t as though she’s had all of the information. There are things she didn’t know the specifics of before. But the specifics aren’t always  _ important.  _ She knows the feelings behind them, the bitter, raw anguish that comes with knowing a person and not spending enough time with them during the time that you have. The awkward self loathing that comes from not loving something as much as they did when they were alive. The dread Tsumugi must have felt, getting that phone call, realising that she was going to lose the one thing she had left of her mother. The suffocating awareness of how truly alone she was, because no matter where she turned, there was nobody who truly understood what she was going through.

And Tsumugi gave Kaede a piece of herself, just now, in sharing the information that she did. Based on how quickly the other woman is blinking, Kaede can guess at the range of emotions that are running through her head right now. Likely, none of them are at all pleasant, and the silence is only making it worse.

Tsumugi isn’t wearing any gloves.

“Hey.” Kaede’s fingers stretch out and she curls them around Tsumugi’s wrists; even through her gloves, she can feel how icy cold the other woman’s fingers are. She can feel them shaking, too, though whether that’s a result of the frigid air, or something else, Kaede can’t really tell. At any rate, her half and half can wait. “Are you putting these in front of the building?” At Tsumugi’s nod, Kaede gently relaxes her fingers until she can take the bouquet, and after placing it on the sidewalk, reaches out and takes Tsumugi’s hands again. “It’s cold, and crying in the cold sucks. Can I take you back to mine? I’m far from the expert at mixing drinks that you are, but I hear I make good hot cider.”   
  


“Y’know,” Tsumugi sniffles, and manages a less bitter smile. “I didn’t mix a whole lot of hot drinks when I worked at the bar, so I think the bar is pretty low there.”

“Good!” Kaede smiles. “Then I have a chance of impressing you!” It coaxes a laugh out of the other woman, which makes her feel a flutter of warmth in her chest. “Really, though, do you want to come over? I’m off work today because of the snow, and you’re here- and like, a real person, which is blowing my mind right now but that’s actually such an embarrassing thing to admit and I can’t believe I just said it- and I’d love to actually, uh, know you as a person, not as a flower shop owner.”

After a moment, which is presumably spent considering Kaede’s words, Tsumugi nods. “That sounds much more appealing than I could possibly articulate to you. Both the cider and the conversation. So I’d be happy to come over.”

Kaede feels her shoulders relax upon receiving confirmation, and squeezes the other woman’s hands. “Okay. Uhm.” She pauses, feeling a bit awkward, and then lets Tsumugi drop her hands, wondering if it was a little weird for her to hold them for so long. They really don’t know each other very well, after all. For some reason, though, from the smile that Tsumugi gives her when they start walking, she doesn’t think it’s such a bad thing.

  
(And when they’re back at her apartment, and Tsumugi picks up the score for  _ “An Ode to Yellow Carnations”,  _ which is still resting on the coffee table for the world to see, Kaede thinks, well, it wouldn’t do any harm if she played it for her.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> several things:
> 
> -it took me a while to write this, which is why there hasn't been much posting this month aside from a huge chunk of stuff just this past week. sorry gamers. i told you i'd been busy. (also there's still another gift fic for me to post e.e)
> 
> -alerane (the person i wrote this for) drew this GORGEOUS picture of all the bouquets in this fic and i wanted to share it with you guys because it's absolutely stunning and??? people don't do art of my work typically so i was totally speechless ahsd https://i.gyazo.com/fd64ea2df2d3903cd51ed7e49b508ec3.png go give them some love they're an AMAZING writer and and a really good artist too (on Tumblr as Alerane or detectivesplotslies-- more specifically catering to danganronpa content) and i had SO much fun writing this ajhdsfjsd
> 
> -i love kaemugi. this was so fun. also i'm constantly looking for excuses to write kaede interacting with people AS she is babey.
> 
> y'all are amazing <333 merry late christmas i have a momoharu christmas ficlet in the works (a late one obviously) but idk if i'll actually post it lolol we'll see


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